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TRP: Ensign and Rieka (Troublemakers)
Same town as last time, few days later. So far, going from being alone, to the third in a trio of three broke-ass sailors wasn't improving Rieka's luck. Still couldn't find a job, and Rieka's completely unashamed attempts at begging didn't produce much coin either. At this rate they were gonna get kicked out of their room at the inn for not paying. "Sure hope Flag ends up having better luck than us, eh Ensign?" Rieka said as they walked down the street. A nearby vendor was selling food, and the smell was making Rieka's mouth water. Even though she didn't have the coppers to pay for it, Rieka found herself slowing, eyeing the cart. "Hey how likely you think he'd be to give us a meal if we asked?" she asked, elbowing Ensign lightly. "Real likely or not likely?" JEN Ensign muttered wordlessly. He could very well imagine how it'd go: the vendor would throw some crumbs at their feet and make a joke about how Ensign should peck them up like a fucking pigeon. Yeah, thanks, no thanks. He picked up his pace, intending to either make Rieka tag along or, preferably, talk to the next mate alone. ABBY Rieka lingered for a second longer, watching as a woman approached. She heard her asking for free food too, and the vendor laughing in her face. Yeah, figured. But just as she was about to move on, the vendor did something she hadn't been expecting. He hit the woman in the face. Hard enough she fell to the ground. "You wanna say that again, bitch!?" he yelled, and kicked her. Well that just wasn't okay. "Hey!" Rieka called, drawing her staff and moving between them. "Now now, there's no need to get nasty now," she said. Cocked her head and gave a vicious little grin. "Oh wait, but you already did." She slammed the butt of her staff into the ground, and from it erupted two arcs of lightning, scorching into the vendor's chest. He didn't die, sturdy fellow, but it sure hurt. He staggered back, clutching his chest. JEN Ensign heard some shouting, and then some more of a voice he knew, and he took a moment to take in and exhale a deep breath before turning around. Rieka was roasting the vendor and people were staring. "Ohhh no, no, no, no," Ensign muttered as he hurried back. He stopped a few feet away and called to her. "Rieka! What- why!" ABBY "Cause he's an asshole," Rieka said, the lightness in her tone belied by the way she didn't take her eyes off the vendor. "I mean what kinda guy beats up a beggar woman for asking for a meal, huh?" Said beggar got to her feet, looking ill. "I'm sorry I'm sorry," she babbled, tears streaming down her face. "I didn't mean any harm. It's my son. He's so hungry and, and I didn't know what else to do." JEN Well, alright, fair enough. Still, the town guard was probably gonna disagree, so what they had to do now was get the fuck out of there. Ensign took Rieka by the shoulders and tried pushing her the way they'd come. "Let's go!" ABBY "Hang on, one second." Rieka shrugged off Ensign's hand and reached into the vendor's cart, flinching and hissing as the hot food burned her fingers. Still, she gathered up as much as she could, about five skewer sticks of meat and some sort of mush that went into a bowl, and handed them to the beggar. "Now you better run before someone tries to take that," she advised. The beggar woman needed no second word. She bolted, taking the food with her. Rieka lingered, staring down the vendor. He didn't move, even though he looked about ready to burst with anger. Once the woman disappeared around a corner, Rieka turned back. "I think our work here is down," she said, clapping Ensign on the back and leisurely strolling away. JEN "Uh-huh," Ensign made, "Let's just-" From around the corner the woman had just disappeared behind, a trio of uniformed men carrying batons and sabres walked out. They were led by a fourth guy who was wide-eyed and babbling, and who, spotting the two of them, pointed a finger at Rieka and Ensign. Ensign stopped short. He reached for Rieka's arm and jerked her in the other direction. ABBY Ah shit. Rieka's attempt at being cool had backfired. She bolted in the direction Ensign had jerked her in, ignoring the shouts behind them. "This way, this way!" she said, charging for the high buildings. Nobody ever looked up-- if they could just get up in the first place. JEN Ensign ran alongside her because, what other choice did he have. Behind them the town's guard were yelling curses at them and pushing people out if the way. Someone ahead stepped in their way and tried to make a grab for Ensign but he shoved himself free and vaulted over a row of fur-filled crates to get out of reach. They were still running down the port street, in full view of a crowd of people as well as the uniforms behind them. Had to fucking get out of sight. Ensign closed the distance to Rieka and tried to catch her to make her take the next turn off the main street. ABBY Rieka let out a yelp as she felt a hand jerk her, and nearly fell flat on her face. It was just Ensign though. Tugging her off in a different direction. "Hey where you leading us off to?" she yelled, her speed picking back up. "I think I got something, if we can just find some high ground!" JEN "What?" He yelled back. "High ground?" ABBY "Yeah! Like a roof or some-- hey!" Rieka stopped, grabbing Ensign's arm and pointing to a church steeple. "Whatdya say we desecrate some holy ground?" she asked, grinning. Behind them the guards shouted as they turned the corner and spotted them. "Ah shit." Rieka started running again. JEN Whatever Rieka wanted with a church, it was no worse idea than trying to outrun them on the streets, so Ensign didn't argue. They could see the tower of the town's church spearing up between the roofs a few intersections away. It wasn't far, they just had to stay faster than the uniforms. ABBY Rieka didn't run all that much. By the time they got close to the church she was regretting it. Chest burning, sides twinging, all around a sweaty, miserable mess. "Hey, hop up," she gasped, patting her hip. "Gonna, carry you." JEN Ensign only gave her a bewildered look and grabbed her arm to pull her on. ABBY "Hey hey, nah. I got a plan, see?" Rieka banged her staff against the ground, and floated herself up a couple inches. "Y'know how often people look up?" she asked, smirking. JEN Oh. Well. Flying. Huh. Ensign jerked out of his confused staring and latched onto Rieka's side, hoping this wasn't the day he'd fucking fall to his death. ABBY "Better hang on tight," Rieka advised, and shot them up as fast as she could, finding handholds where she could to boost them even further. She wasn't used to taking a passenger, and it made her pseudo-flight wavery and choppy. She found herself veering for the wall, and just barely managed to twist so she didn't crush Ensign between herself and the unforgiving stone. JEN Ensign squawked and screeched wordlessly, trying to keep his body parts away from the walls while holding onto Rieka. They were going to die- well, maybe not Rieka because she could fucking fly, but Ensign sure as fuck would end up rat fodder today. ABBY "Yeah I know right?" Rieka grunted, flinching as Ensign's fingers dug in painfully. "Hey don't you scratch me. Fucking talons," she grumbled. Below she could hear the shouts of the guards. Out of instinct she froze. And kept drifting upwards, almost bumping her head on an overhang. JEN Ensign wasn't so lucky. His head gave a resounding thud colliding with the stone and he lost his grip, making him scrabble and claw at Rieka, at the church wall, at anything to not fall. ABBY "Shit shit shit," Rieka hissed, grabbing at the flailing bird. She felt her hold on the spell slip, and plunged down a foot before managing to re-stabilize it. "Hey hey! Don't do that! You're gonna knock us both off!" She grabbed at his arms, trying to heave them both up enough that the ledge they bounced off of could be used as a handhold. JEN "Fuck! Fuck!" Ensign's talons were hooked in Rieka's belt but it was a flimsy fucking hold and he felt it strain under his weight. His feet scrambled in the air until he found a ledge where he could push off of, and they both got propelled upwards again. ABBY It was enough to push them up, and Rieka was able to grab the ledge and heave them over to safety. She grabbed Ensign, shoving him over. The ledge was small but there was room to stand. Barely. "C'mon, c'mon, move it!" JEN Which she didn't have to tell him twice. He found seams between the stone blocks where he could wedge his talons into for added safety, face pressed to the wall, tail feathers in the wind. They stood under some kind of ornamental arch and it blocked Ensign's view of the street. Hopefully it did the same for the town's guard on the ground. ABBY Rieka scrambled up to squeeze in beside him, leaving the spell active just in case. The guard's voices were distant now, and when she risked sticking her head out for a peek, they looked more scattered. The frantic chase had turned into a search. "Hey I think this worked," she said, pitching her voice low. Even though they were high up enough that it wasn't necessary. JEN "Uh-huh?" He said against the wall, not at all convinced they were in a winning situation here. ABBY "Yeah. They're all scattered 'n shit." Emboldened, Rieka leaned back to better take in the arch they were under. "Hey, hey I bet I can float up there, get a rope down for you, and then we can just walk on through this church, easy as you please." JEN He detached his face from the wall to squint up. Nothing about climbing a rope up the roof of a fucking church sounded easy but what other choice did they have. ABBY They had a plan, but Rieka hesitated. She didn't like the idea of leaving Ensign here, where she couldn't keep an eye on him, help him out if he got in trouble. "Hey, change of plan." She reached over to tap Ensign on the shoulder, and switched the spell to him. "You go up, gimme a squawk when you're settled, and then I'll float up and join ya." JEN Ensign was about to protest but next thing he knew his feet were lifting off the ground. He made a noise somewhere between the squeak of a mouse and a rusty hinge because he just couldn't concentrate on not floating away and cursing. Pulling himself together, he began searching for handholds to push himself upward, which was surprisingly easy. He reached the top of the arch and climbed on, then laid himself flat on his stomach and gave the signaling squawk. ABBY Right. It turned out that clinging on without a spell for backup was a lot more terrifying than Rieka'd thought it would be. Ensign better appreciate the fact she sent him up first. She wasted no time after hearing the squawk to cast the spell on herself, floating herself up till she was hovering over Ensign. Then she grabbed a column, spun herself in, and nearly bashed into the bell. Had to cut the spell quick and ended up taking a dive on the floor instead. "Can we pretend I landed that and didn't look lame?" she said weakly from the floor. JEN Ensign held up a thumb. ABBY "You're the best, bro," she said. And made no move to get up. "Whatdya say we just live here from now on? No guards. No fights. Just us and the biggest damned bell in the city." JEN "Just... " Ensign said, equally uninterested in shifting his center mass away from solid ground, "No more flying." ABBY "I hear that," she said. And fell quiet for a minute. Something seemed off though. Rieka frowned, raising her head up, and just about pissed herself when she saw. The bell was beginning to move. "Shit-- Ensign! Ears!!" she yelled, clapping her hands over her own. This was going to royally suck. JEN Ensign pressed the heels of his hands against his ears immediately, but in that instand the bell rang and it was like the bell tongue had bashed directly against his head. He set his jaw tight against the noise- the physical pain of it, hoping this was only the strike of the hour, not the call for the sermon. ABBY CLANG! It was official, Rieka hated sound now. If she went deaf because of this, no regrets. CLANG! Rieka's chest felt like she was screaming. But she couldn't hear a lick of it. CLANG! Once more the sound rocked through her skull. Too loud, to harsh, god Rieka hated bells now. Slowly she became aware, she was still screaming. She could hear herself screaming. She stopped, slowly peeking at the bell. It wasn't moving. Carefully she pulled her hands away from her ears, wincing at the blood on them. "Hey En--" she bent over, clutching at her ears. Nope nope, talking hurt. Noise hurt. Nope not doing that. JEN Ensign uncovered his ears just as slowly. The bell was still now but the ringing in his ears wasn't stopping. Rieka said something to him, and he knew because he could see her mouth moving, but that was about it. She doubled over then, and Ensign scrambled to his feet to check on her. ABBY Rieka turned her head to the side and gave Ensign a shaky grin and thumbs up. She pointed to her ears, and the trail of blood leaking from them. Her head hurt. Worse than any hangover she'd ever experienced. Felt like her head had been what banged around inside the bell. She got to her feet, using Ensign and a beam as stabilizers. Yeah the 'walk downstairs' plan wasn't sounding to good. Her legs were as wobbly as they were her first day at sea. She made a gesture like a leaf floating, and then pointed down the bottom of the belltower, pointing at Ensign and then giving a hopeful grin and thumbs up. JEN He grimaced seeing the trickle of blood and the way she wobbled around. Yeah, no, none of that floating bullshit anymore. He'd just fucking carry her if she couldn't walk. Since Rieka was already holding onto him, Ensign had an easy time wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her up over his shoulder. Her feet almost dragged but it was okay, he'd manage. At least they had the luck of already being at the top of the tower- the way down could only be easier. ABBY "Oi!" Rieka protested. But then again she wasn't feeling up to wriggling free. So she just went limp and let Ensign do his thing. He was a good friend. JEN It was one tall fucking tower and even though they (he) were going down, by the time they reached the foot of the stairs, Ensign was panting and huffing. He let Rieka down, then leaned in the open doorway leading out into the nave of the curch to catch his breath. It caught and turned into a snort when he spotted the oversized wooden statue of a man in long robes and a head like a butternut squash. ABBY Rieka balanced herself against a beam, checking out the statue Ensign saw. Huh. That was a new one to her. The statue was good quality, the man looked like something a child had made outta clay. She batted Ensign to get his attention, pointed to her ears, and then folded her hands together like she was praying, looking very pious. JEN Ensign squinted at her, then shook his head. "What?" He said, but he could barely hear himself through the storm in his ears. ABBY Rieka saw Ensign's mouth move. Couldn't understand a word he said. She gave up on signals and just shouted. "I WANNA FIND A CLERIC!" JEN "Ohh." Yeah. For her ears. That made sense. Ensign took a few steps out the door. Inside little alcoves along the walls a few people sat and prayed. And between the columns... someone that looked like he was wearing robes similar to the statue. Hah, with any luck they'd just spotted the dude himself. Ensign didn't waste time and strolled right over. ABBY Rieka followed, and hey-- Ensign was good at finding people. Good birdhound. He'd prolly be mad at her if she said that aloud. "Can you heal my ears?" she, well, bellowed-- being mostly deaf didn't help volume control any. They were gathering looks, but long as they just stayed looks, Rieka wasn't worried. JEN The man- boy, really, with that little peach fuss he called a beard, flinched and clutched his book to his chest. "That!" Ensign yelled and pointed at Rieka, then at himself. "We can't hear!" Someone in the alcove next to them turned around and made a shushing motion (and the noise, too, probably). The cleric opened his mouth and Ensign thought he could hear a "uuuh" escaping him, before he waved to them to follow him. They were lead back towards the tower entrance, but before that the cleric took a turn left down a hallway dotted with wooden doors. He opened one and motioned them inside. ABBY Aw, they spooked the kid. Rieka felt bad, and resolved to apologize. Once she could hear herself think. She gave the kid a grin and a thumbs up, wandering on through the door and looking for a place to sit. JEN In the middle of the room stood a long, wooden table with a padded surface. The cleric circled around it to lay his book on a stand nearby, then went over to wash his hands in a water basin. When he turned around, he gestured for Rieka to sit on the table. ABBY Rieka hopped up and settled in. "We were up on top of the tower when it rang," she yell-explained. JEN The cleric paused, squinted and said something. Then he seemed to remember they couldn't hear and shook his head. Carefully, he brushed strands of Rieka's hair aside to examine the bleeding before laying his hands to either side of her head and starting to pray. ABBY Fuck yeah finally. Rieka felt the magic sink into her ears, and the sounds of everyday life returned. Murmurs from outside the door, footsteps as people went about their Wood creaking as Rieka shifted against the table, and the prayers of the cleric. "Hey thanks," she said when he finished, grinning and giving him a friendly shoulder-slap. "Whole lot better there. Hey can you fix my friend up too?" she asked, hopping off the table. Without making a move to clean the blood off her ears. JEN "Please," the cleric muttered and waved Ensign over who took Rieka's spot. The cleric then went about his work and a minute later, Ensign too had back the magic of hearing. "You said you were on top of the tower?" the cleric asked when both his patients could understand him again. ABBY "Oh yeah," Rieka said. "Just hanging out, y'know? And then somebody got the bright idea to ring it." She mimed yanking on a bellrope. "Good thing it was a church so we could hunt somebody like you down to fix it, eh?" JEN "Please," he said, "do not do that again. Visitors aren't allowed up there." ABBY "Sure, sure. Smart idea too. Don't imagine anyone wants our deal to be every day." Rieka made a face. "Just needed a break to hide out from the guards y'know?" she said, hooking her hands together and stretching out her back. JEN "The guards?" The cleric looked puzzled and worried. Ensign took that as their cue to leave. "Thank you," he said and took Rieka by the arm. "Leaving now." ABBY "Keep up the good work!" Rieka called to the cleric, allowing Ensign to lead her away. "Nice kid," she remarked. "Hey did you happen to notice the way outta this place or nah?" JEN "Wait!" The man yelled behind them and Ensign dragged Rieka on a bit faster. A look over his shoulder showed him the cleric standing in the doorway uncertainly, then hurry off in the other direction. ABBY Uh oh. Rieka was starting to have a bad feeling. "You think this might be one of them kind of churches that are real hung up on the law?" she muttered, matching Ensign's speed. JEN "Dunno. No wanna find out." At their pace, they made quite a lot of noise on the stone floor and the worshippers in the alcoves threw them more nasty looks, which Ensign all ignored. He'd spotted the door and all he wanted was to get back to their inn. He didn't even want to find a job today, though they'd need it. He just wanted a fucking drink. ABBY There was the door! Rieka went into an all out run, yelling "Sorry!" at assorted clerics, paladins, and worshippers. Especially the ones she nearly crashed into. Running for her life-- or at least freedom-- wasn't no excuse to be rude. She skidded to a halt, banging into the door slightly, and then attempted to fling it open. It was locked. "Hey is this even a door to the outside or are we trying to barge into their services or somethin'?" JEN Ensign tried the door himself but neither shoving nor pulling budged it. He frowned and turned around to look for another exit. ABBY There was a window on another wall. A big beautiful, stained glass window, depicting some act of heroism from the past. Looked like some guy slaying a monster or something. Sunlight was streaming through it. Rieka tugged at Ensign's arm and pointed at the window. "Hey what if we went thataway?" JEN "Bad idea," he said. If they went through that, chances were they'd be on the run from the guards yet again. Destroying church property.... people hated that. Instead, he turned and went to grab the nearest poor soul not quick enough to get away. "Door?" He squawked in their face. "Exit!" ABBY The woman looked startled, then offended. "Why don't you just retrace your steps?" she asked, sticking her nose in the air. "Hasn't anyone ever taught you to mind your manners in church?" "We uh, we're lost," Rieka said. The woman sniffed and turned on her heel, marching down the hallway. Hoping that she was leading them like they'd asked, Rieka followed, shooting a glance at Ensign and shrugging. Turns out there was a door not too far away, and she swung it open to reveal the streets outside. "Thank you ma'am," Rieka said, cause no need to piss her off more than they had. Then she grabbed Ensign's hand and bolted. Thankfully they got back to the inn without running into any guards. Question was, how long could they avoid the guards while skipping town? END Category:Text Roleplay